Last summer, 3D Summer Partners, which lists a residential address in Brentwood, Tenn., bought the property from Stephen L. LaFrance Pharmacy Inc. – the parent company of Ike’s – for $1.3 million. 3D Summer Partners also filed a $1.7 million loan through Trustmark National Bank at the time of purchase.

Built in 1952, the former pharmacy building sits on 1.5 acres at the southwest corner of Summer and North Perkins. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2013 appraisal is $1.3 million.

Rhodes Residence Hall Awarded LEED Silver Status

West Village, Rhodes College’s newest residence hall, has been awarded the LEED Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The facility opened in August.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and it’s an internationally recognized program providing third-party verification of green buildings. Such buildings are designed to lower operating costs and increase asset value, in addition to reducing waste sent to landfills, being healthier and safer overall for occupants, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving energy and water.

– Andy Meek

Saturday Grizzlies Game to Air on Outdoor Screens

The sold-out Grizzlies-Spurs playoff game Saturday, May 25, at FedExForum will be seen on several large outdoor LED screens in the Downtown area including Beale Street.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. announced the plans for the outdoor public viewings Thursday afternoon.

As the game is underway in FedExForum, the Memphis in May International Festival Sunset Symphony will be going in Tom Lee Park along with an air show and a fireworks display.

The outdoor screens are being set up with support from the Beale Street Merchants Association and the Greater Memphis Chamber.

– Bill Dries

Kroger Unveils Renovation of Whitehaven Store

Executives of Kroger’s Delta Division unveiled a $5 million renovation Thursday, May 23, of the supermarket chain’s Whitehaven store.

The store at 1212 E. Shelby Drive will remain open during the renovation, which begins immediately and is expected to be completed by Christmas. New displays and cases for the store will be combined with a move of the pharmacy’s location in the store.

Tim Brown, president of the Delta Division, also announced the store’s meats section will be expanded and sushi will be added to the deli menu.

The Whitehaven renovation next to the Southbrook Mall and across Shelby Drive from the Southland Mall, the city’s oldest shopping mall, is the latest roll out of a Kroger renovation project. The Delta Division is undertaking $50 million in renovation projects as well as replacing some of its stores during 2013.

– Bill Dries

Arthritis Foundation Walk to be Held June 1

The Arthritis Foundation will hold the 2013 Arthritis Walk Memphis at Shelby Farms’ Patriot Lake on June 1.

The free annual walk, which takes place in hundreds of cities nationwide, helps improve the lives of the 50 million adults and 300,000 children living with arthritis in the U.S. By 2030, an estimated 67,000 Americans will have arthritis, according to the Arthritis Foundation.

Arthritis also costs the U.S. economy about $128 billion each year, the foundation said.

– Jennifer Johnson Backer

Arkansas Highway Officials Explore Toll on I-40

A consultant retained by Arkansas highway officials to assess the feasibility of making all or parts of Interstate 40 between North Little Rock and West Memphis a tollway to pay to widen the highway is surveying motorists on why they use the route and their willingness to pay a toll.

The survey, which can be found at www.ark40.com, will be available for two weeks for people who travel the highway, state Highway and Transportation Department officials said Wednesday.

Electronic message boards have been stationed along I-40 to spread the word about the survey, including two stationed near the Galloway exit in North Little Rock. Additionally, fliers will be distributed at truck stops and rest stops along the route.

The Arkansas Highway Commission authorized the study in March 2012 as part of a due diligence to study the feasibility of all sources of funding.

In 2011, voters in the state approved renewal of the existing $575 million bond program to pay for repairs on nearly 300 miles of interstates. In November, they approved a temporary half-percent sales tax that would be in place for 10 years and finance a $1.3 billion bond program targeting construction of four-lane highways or adding capacity to existing four-lane highways.

Neither one of those proposals, state highway officials have noted, add capacity to I-40.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports current federal law allows states to add lanes to existing interstates and charge tolls for the new lanes only, said Alan Meadors, who heads the department’s planning and research division. But the study also will look at adding a lane in each direction and tolling all lanes in the event federal law changes, he said.

The 130-mile section of I-40 between North Little Rock and West Memphis is particularly vexing because of the high concentration of big trucks. Truck traffic exceeds 50 percent of the total traffic in several sections, a volume that is “almost unheard of on two-lane interstates,” said Jessie Jones, who is a department engineer and second in command of the agency’s planning and research division.

The average daily vehicle count ranges between 30,000 and nearly 40,000, Jones said.

– The Associated Press

30-Year Mortgages Rise to 3.59 Percent

Average rates on fixed-mortgage rose for the third straight week, hitting their highest levels since mid-March. Still, mortgage rates remained close to historic lows, a trend that should help sustain the housing recovery.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for the 30-year loan increased to 3.59 percent this week. That’s up from 3.51 percent last week and above the rate of 3.31 percent reached in November, the lowest on records dating to 1971.

The average on the 15-year loan jumped to 2.77 percent. That’s up from 2.69 percent last week. The record low of 2.56 percent was hit on May 2.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday each week. The average doesn’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for 30-year mortgages was unchanged at 0.7 point last week. The fee for 15-year loans also was steady at 0.7 point.

The average rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage held at 2.55 percent. The fee for one-year adjustable-rate loans was unchanged at 0.4 point.

The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage edged up to 2.63 percent from 2.62 percent. The fee was steady at 0.5.